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Blood, Fire and Gold
- The Story of Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici
- Narrated by: Anna Wilson-Jones
- Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins
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Blood, Fire and Gold
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In a life of extraordinary drama, Jane Boleyn was catapulted from relative obscurity to the inner circle of King Henry VIII. As powerful men and women around her became victims of Henry’s ruthless and absolute power, including her own husband and sister-in-law, Queen Anne Boleyn, Jane’s allegiance to the volatile monarchy was sustained and rewarded. But the price for her loyalty would eventually be her undoing and the ruination of her name. For centuries, little beyond rumor and scandal has been associated with “the infamous Lady Rochford".
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Publisher's summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
In 16th-century Europe, two women came to hold all the power, against all the odds. They were Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici.
One a Virgin Queen who ruled her kingdom alone, and the other a clandestine leader who used her children to shape the dynasties of Europe, much has been written about these iconic women. But nothing has been said of their complicated relationship: 30 years of friendship, competition and conflict that changed the face of Europe.
This is a story of two remarkable visionaries: a story of blood, fire and gold. It is also a tale of ceaseless calculation, of love and rivalry, of war and wisdom—and of female power in a male world. Shining new light on their legendary kingdoms Blood, Fire and Gold provides a new way of looking at two of history's most powerful women, and how they shaped each other as profoundly as they shaped the course of history. Drawing on their letters and brand-new research, Estelle Paranque writes an entirely new chapter in the well-worn story of the 16th century.
Critic reviews
"A stunning portrayal of two of the most powerful women in European history." (Tracy Borman)
"Exciting and compelling, packed full of tantalising details of diplomacy and court life, Paranque succeeds both in bringing history to life, but also in putting flesh on the bones of these two extraordinary women and rival queens." (Kate Mosse)
"Bursting with fresh perspectives, this is a vibrant retelling of a story you thought you knew." (Dan Snow)
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- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 120
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 102
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 101
Ten remarkable women. One remarkable era. In the Tudor period, 1485 to 1603, a host of fascinating women sat on the English throne. The dramatic events of their lives are told in The Turbulent Crown: The Story of the Tudor Queens.
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5 out of 5 stars
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a very good listen
- By Evil Guppy on 09-21-19
By: Roland Hui
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Daughters of the Winter Queen
- Four Remarkable Sisters, the Crown of Bohemia, and the Enduring Legacy of Mary, Queen of Scots
- By: Nancy Goldstone
- Narrated by: Laura Kirman
- Length: 13 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 333
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 287
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 287
Young Elizabeth Stuart was thrust into a life of wealth and splendor when her godmother, Queen Elizabeth I, died and her father, James I, ascended to the illustrious throne of England. At 16 she was married to a dashing German count far below her rank, with the understanding that James would help her husband achieve the crown of Bohemia. Her father's terrible betrayal of this promise would ruin "the Winter Queen", as Elizabeth would forever be known, imperil the lives of those she loved, and launch a war that would last for 30 years.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Misnamed but Wonderful
- By Anonymous User on 05-16-18
By: Nancy Goldstone
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Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him
- The Secret History Behind the Tudor Throne
- By: Tracy Borman
- Narrated by: Julie Teal
- Length: 17 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 134
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 123
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 123
Henry VIII is best known in history for his tempestuous marriages and the fates of his six wives. However, as acclaimed historian Tracy Borman makes clear in her illuminating new chronicle of Henry’s life, his reign and reputation were hugely influenced by the men who surrounded and interacted with him as companions and confidants, servants and ministers, and occasionally as rivals - many of whom have been underplayed in previous biographies.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Exceptional.
- By bigdjunta on 08-02-19
By: Tracy Borman
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Sister Queens
- The Noble, Tragic Lives of Katherine of Aragon and Juana, Queen of Castile
- By: Julia Fox
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
- Length: 14 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 216
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 193
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 190
The history books have cast Katherine of Aragon, the first queen of King Henry VIII of England, as the ultimate symbol of the Betrayed Woman, cruelly tossed aside in favor of her husband’s seductive mistress, Anne Boleyn. Katherine’s sister, Juana of Castile, wife of Philip of Burgundy and mother of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, is portrayed as “Juana the Mad,” whose erratic behavior included keeping her beloved late husband’s coffin beside her for years.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Sad but Fascinating Lives
- By Cariola on 06-29-12
By: Julia Fox
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Emperor
- A New Life of Charles V
- By: Geoffrey Parker
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 26 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 235
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 197
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 196
The life of Emperor Charles V (1500-1558), ruler of Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and much of Italy and Central and South America, has long intrigued biographers. But the elusive nature of the man (despite an abundance of documentation), his relentless travel and the control of his own image, together with the complexity of governing the world's first transatlantic empire, complicate the task.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Amazing.
- By bigdjunta on 10-21-19
By: Geoffrey Parker
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Elizabeth I and Her Circle
- By: Susan Doran
- Narrated by: Joanna Daniel
- Length: 14 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 55
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 48
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 49
This is the story of Elizabeth I's inner circle and the crucial human relationships which lay at the heart of her personal and political life. Using a wide range of original sources - including private letters, portraits, verse, drama, and state papers - Susan Doran provides a vivid and often dramatic account of political life in Elizabethan England and the queen at its center.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Very detailed and enjoyable
- By Sean on 09-12-15
By: Susan Doran
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The Women of the Cousins' War
- The Duchess, the Queen and the King's Mother
- By: Philippa Gregory, David Baldwin, Michael Jones
- Narrated by: Bianca Amato
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 495
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 449
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 450
In her essay on Jacquetta, Philippa Gregory uses original documents, archaeology and histories of myth and witchcraft to create the first-ever biography of the young duchess who was to survive two reigns and two wars to become the first lady at two rival courts. David Baldwin, established author on the Wars of the Roses, tells the story of Elizabeth Woodville, the first commoner to marry a king of England for love, and Michael Jones, fellow of the Royal Historical Society, writes of Margaret Beaufort, the almost-unknown matriarch of the House of Tudor. The Women of the Cousins’ War will appeal to all.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great book
- By Stacey Wallace on 11-14-11
By: Philippa Gregory, and others
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The Six Wives of Henry VIII
- By: Alison Weir
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 22 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,938
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,620
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,599
This acclaimed best seller from popular historian Alison Weir is a fascinating look at the Tudor family dynasty and its most infamous ruler. The Six Wives of Henry VIII brings to life England’s oft-married monarch and the six wildly different but equally fascinating women who married him. Gripping from the first sentence to the last and loaded with fascinating details, Weir’s rich history is a perfect blend of scholarship and entertainment.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Overview AND Sordid Details
- By Troy on 10-29-13
By: Alison Weir
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The Betrayal of Mary, Queen of Scots
- Elizabeth I and Her Greatest Rival
- By: Kate Williams
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 14 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 55
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 49
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 49
This is the story of two women struggling for supremacy in a man's world, when no one thought a woman could govern. They both had to negotiate with men - those who wanted their power and those who wanted their bodies - who were determined to best them. In their worlds, female friendship and alliances were unheard of, but for many years theirs was the only friendship that endured. They were as fascinated by each other as lovers; until they became enemies. Enemies so angry and broken that one of them had to die, and so Elizabeth ordered the execution of Mary.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Doe Eyed Mary Stuart
- By Missee on 02-28-19
By: Kate Williams
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Catherine de Medici
- Renaissance Queen of France
- By: Leonie Frieda
- Narrated by: Sarah Le Fevre
- Length: 21 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 456
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 389
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 386
Poisoner, despot, necromancer - the dark legend of Catherine de Medici is centuries old. In this critically hailed biography, Leonie Frieda reclaims the story of this unjustly maligned queen to reveal a skilled ruler battling extraordinary political and personal odds - from a troubled childhood in Florence to her marriage to Henry, son of King Francis I of France; from her transformation of French culture to her fight to protect her throne and her sons' birthright. Based on thousands of private letters, it is a remarkable account of one of the most influential women to wear a crown.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Narrator didn't get one name right
- By Georgina García- Menocal on 09-15-19
By: Leonie Frieda
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Tudor
- Passion. Manipulation. Murder. The Story of England's Most Notorious Royal Family
- By: Leanda de Lisle
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 16 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 108
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 97
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 97
The Tudors are England's most notorious royal family. But, as Leanda de Lisle's gripping new history reveals, they are a family still more extraordinary than the one we thought we knew. The Tudor canon typically starts with the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 before speeding on to Henry VIII and the Reformation. But this leaves out the family's obscure Welsh origins and the ordinary man known as Owen Tudor who would fall (literally) into a queen's lap - and later her bed.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Clear and detailed
- By Tad Davis on 04-13-16
By: Leanda de Lisle
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Tudor History
- A Captivating Guide to the Tudors, the Wars of the Roses, the Six Wives of Henry VIII and the Life of Elizabeth I
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Desmond Manny
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 52
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 48
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 49
Five Tudor monarchs sat on the throne of England and Ireland from 1485 to 1603. The family earned their royal rights through strategic planning and battlefield prowess, and kept them because of intellect, strength, and sheer determination. The Tudors, one of England’s most powerful and famous royal dynasties, knitted together a fragmented and small island nation that became one of the world’s financial, colonial, and technological superpowers.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A facinating guide.
- By James Mark on 03-07-19
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Crown of Blood
- The Deadly Inheritance of Lady Jane Grey
- By: Nicola Tallis
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 259
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 230
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 227
"Good people, I am come hither to die, and by a law I am condemned to the same." These were the heartbreaking words of a 17-year-old girl, Lady Jane Grey, as she stood on the scaffold awaiting death on a cold February morning in 1554. Minutes later, her head was struck from her body with a single stroke of a heavy ax. Her death for high treason sent shock waves through the Tudor world and served as a gruesome reminder to all who aspired to a crown that the ax could fall at any time.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliantly Compelling
- By J.Brock on 11-26-19
By: Nicola Tallis
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Mary Queen of Scots
- By: Antonia Fraser
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 25 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 99
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 86
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 85
Her royal birth gave her claim to the thrones of two nations; her marriage to the young French dauphin promised to place a third glorious crown on her noble head. Instead, Mary Stuart became the victim of her own impulsive heart, scandalizing her world with a foolish passion that would lead to abduction, rape, and even murder. Here is her story, a queen who lost a throne for love, a monarch pampered and adored even as she was led to her beheading, the unforgettable woman who became a legend for all time.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Shockingly disingenuous.
- By rainjade on 08-14-18
By: Antonia Fraser
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Mistress Anne
- The Exceptional Life of Anne Boleyn
- By: Carolly Erickson
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 73
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 63
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 63
A powerful ruler, an alluring young woman, a scandal that would rock the nation: Anne Boleyn’s life story sounds more like a juicy TV docu-drama than a chapter of English history. Although she is not of noble birth or even especially beautiful, Anne Boleyn manages to rise to the very pinnacle of the English aristocracy. Renowned for her extraordinarily vivid recreations of historical events, Carolly Erickson brings out the full fascinating story of the enigmatic Anne Boleyn.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Just OK for me.
- By Amazon Customer on 01-11-12
By: Carolly Erickson
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The Tudors: A Captivating Guide to the History of England from Henry VII to Elizabeth I
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Desmond Manny
- Length: 3 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 26
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 26
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Story5 out of 5 stars 26
Five Tudor monarchs sat on the throne of England and Ireland from 1485 to 1603. The family earned their royal rights through strategic planning and battlefield prowess, and kept them because of intellect, strength, and sheer determination. The Tudors, one of England’s most powerful and famous royal dynasties, knitted together a fragmented and small island nation that became one of the world’s financial, colonial, and technological superpowers.
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5 out of 5 stars
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In-depth Story
- By Gail Bishop on 10-16-18